Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: Xu Yun Comes to Demand Child Support from Chu Mian

“She writes songs? Idol, if she could write songs, then even the stray dogs on the street could enter the entertainment industry,” Xie Anyue scoffed.

“No, wait,” Xie Anyue’s expression shifted sharply. “Are they saying that the great artist Boyan is her?”

The manager nodded. “Is there a problem?”

“How could she possibly be Boyan?”

Xie Anyue placed her hands on her hips and laughed loudly. “Chu Mian, Chu Mian, if you’re going to lie, can you at least pick an identity that won’t be easily exposed? Boyan is a famous music composer. You’re just a country bumpkin—how dare you impersonate Boyan?”

Then she glanced at Mo Li. “Idol, she’s just an adopted daughter in my family. She was kicked out only a few days ago. She found out her biological parents are from the countryside, so she’s been pretending to be someone else to scam rich people and earn money to support her five poor brothers!”

This news exploded like thunder in front of everyone.

The manager was stunned, mouth agape, instinctively looking at Mo Li.

It sounded convincing—could they really have mistaken the person?

Mo Li frowned as he looked at Chu Mian, who was quietly absorbed in writing something in a notebook.

He walked over and took a closer look. The complex musical scores and notes seemed to dance on the paper. As a singer himself, he recognized immediately that these compositions were not something an ordinary person could produce.

“Old Nine, get her out of here,” Mo Li ordered in a low voice.

The manager was taken aback, his face darkening like a pot bottom. This little girl really was a fraud!

He strode forward, reaching out to grab Chu Mian.

Xie Anyue laughed triumphantly.

But in the next moment, Mo Li stopped the manager. “I said, get that woman out.”

“Huh?” The manager was completely baffled. He looked at Mo Li, then at the equally surprised Xie Anyue, before turning and walking over to her. “Please leave!”

“You’re—you’re making a mistake! How could Chu Mian be Boyan...” Xie Anyue hesitated.

The manager was a burly man with a stern face that looked intimidating when he wasn’t smiling.

Under his gaze, Xie Anyue stepped back a few paces, suspiciously eyeing Chu Mian. “Chu Mian, what exactly have you done?!”

---

Against all odds, Chu Mian had managed to convince Mo Li, the idol, that she was Boyan.

The manager didn’t give Xie Anyue any chance to respond. He grabbed her arm firmly and dragged her out of the recording studio.

With a loud bang, the glass door slammed shut behind them. Xie Anyue stood there looking disheveled, while onlookers turned their heads with curiosity, whispering and pointing at her.

Fuming, Xie Anyue stomped her feet and refused to return to the recording studio, turning away abruptly.

Back at the Xie residence, she exploded in anger, flipping the tea set on the table to the ground. “Argh! I’m so furious, I’m going to lose it!”

The servants cowered against the wall, too frightened to come and clean up.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Yun came downstairs, worried, and walked over to Xie Anyue. “What’s wrong, my dear daughter? Didn’t you go to record...?”

“Recording my ass!” Xie Anyue snapped. The thought of the manager nitpicking her while Chu Mian was treated like a guest of honor by Mo Li made her blood boil.

“Daughter, who made you angry? I’ll have your father teach them a lesson!” Xu Yun’s only daughter had been away for so many years, and she felt guilty about it. Seeing her daughter so upset tore at her heart.

“Who else could it be but Chu Mian?” Xu Yun frowned. “That wretched girl went back to the countryside, didn’t she?”

“Yes! But now she’s pretending to be Boyan, sneaking into the recording studio to scam the movie star Mo Li, and she’s even writing songs for him!” Xie Anyue grew angrier by the minute, grabbing the last blue-and-white porcelain cup on the table and smashing it on the floor, glass shattering everywhere.

Worried she might harm herself, Xu Yun hurried to stop her. “Who is Boyan?”

Seeing Xu Yun’s clueless expression, Xie Anyue’s anger surged. “In short, Boyan is a very powerful creator in the entertainment industry!”

That powerful, huh?

Then Chu Mian must have made a lot of money. It was said that people in showbiz were quite crafty with money! Xu Yun knew Mo Li; not long ago, she had even become obsessed with a drama he starred in...

Xu Yun thought carefully for a moment. “Daughter, if Chu Mian really is that Boyan you’re talking about, she must have earned quite a bit over the years. Otherwise, why would she refuse the fifty thousand yuan we gave her? If that’s the case, after all these years of us raising her, she should at least return some of it to us!”

“Mom...”

---

“Daughter, don’t worry about this. I have a way to make Chu Mian give back every penny she earned! Who let her upset my precious daughter so much? Hmph!”

Xie Anyue didn’t know what Xu Yun planned, but as long as it caused trouble for Chu Mian, she fully supported it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chu Mian had finished writing a whole song for Mo Li. It was already past four in the afternoon. She hurried to the market to buy some main dishes, declining Mo Li’s invitation to dinner. She handed the sheet music to Mo Li. “Just transfer the payment to my account. I have something to attend to, so I’ll leave first.”

Without looking back, she left the recording studio, leaving Mo Li and manager Lao Jiu staring at each other in surprise.

Mo Li examined the sheet music carefully, his eyes growing brighter. It was as if he could see the notes dancing in front of him, as if he could see himself shining brilliantly on stage!

This was unmistakably Boyan’s style!

He had analyzed every piece composed by Boyan and was very familiar with it. He could recognize Boyan’s songs with his eyes closed.

“Brother, is this girl really Boyan?” Lao Jiu was still doubtful. This girl was so casual—nothing like the revered and sought-after Boyan in the entertainment industry.

Mo Li treasured the sheet music like a precious gem. “Don’t reveal her identity. I’ll write the lyrics as soon as possible.”

Once recorded, it would definitely be a hit!

Seeing their artist so confident, Lao Jiu could only reluctantly accept that Chu Mian was indeed Boyan.

Having made fifty million today, Chu Mian was in a good mood. Mo Li was efficient too. As soon as she reached the market entrance, she received a transfer of fifty million yuan.

Chu Mian bought a lot of meat, as well as chicken, duck, and fish. She didn’t want to come to the city often, so she bought extra.

She was going to San Ge’s place for his famous spicy fish head. After loading the groceries into the car, she drove home.

As she arrived at her doorstep, she saw a crowd gathered in front of the row of thatched cottages. Her mother Lin Yue and third brother Chu Xian were surrounded.

Chu Mian’s expression darkened. She opened the car door and jumped out, striding closer. At the head of the crowd was a familiar face.

“Oh my goodness! Where’s your conscience? The Xie family worked hard to raise Chu Mian for fourteen years, and now that she can make money, your Chu family takes her back. I only asked for a little support money, and you all scream and shout at me! This is utterly unfair!”

Xu Yun wasn’t dressed in her usual upscale designer clothes. Instead, she wore a rough linen outfit, no pearl necklace or jade bracelets, and no makeup, looking no different from a village woman. She sat on the ground, throwing a tantrum, tears streaming as she poured out her grievances.